BEIJING, China, Jan 14 — Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s just-concluded three-nation Africa visit has reaffirmed China’s determination to deepen strategic trust with the continent, expand development-oriented cooperation and work with African partners to advance modernization amid growing global uncertainty, observers said.
Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, wrapped up his visits to the African Union headquarters, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Lesotho, on Monday, continuing China’s diplomatic tradition of making Africa the destination of Chinese foreign ministers’ first overseas visit of the year — a practice upheld for 36 consecutive years.
Speaking to Chinese media after the trip, Wang said the visit once again demonstrated that the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, remains the fundamental guideline for China-Africa cooperation.
Sincerity and equality have always defined China’s engagement with Africa, Wang said.
“Zero tariffs” emerged as the issue raised most frequently by African leaders during the visit. Beijing announced last year the implementation of zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent of tariff lines for all 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China.
Wang described the move as a “golden calling card” of China-Africa cooperation in the new era and a key step in China’s expansion of unilateral opening-up. He said the policy would support Africa’s efforts to boost exports, attract investment and create jobs, while advancing cooperation in green industries, digital trade and payments, science and technology, and artificial intelligence.
China and Africa together account for one-third of the world’s population. Experts noted that without China-Africa modernization, global modernization would be incomplete.
According to Wang, China-Africa trade surpassed $300 billion for the first time in the first 11 months of 2025, up 17.8 percent year-on-year. China-Africa passenger flights have increased 23 percent, while nearly 1,000 Chinese medical workers and over 200 agricultural experts are currently providing services across the continent.
During the tour, Wang also held the ninth China-AU Strategic Dialogue at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and launched the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, with nearly 600 activities planned throughout the year. The AU reaffirmed its adherence to the one-China principle in a joint communique.
Wang said strengthening strategic mutual trust between China and Africa is both timely and necessary, and emphasized that cooperation aims to promote collective self-reliance, safeguard legitimate interests and contribute to global peace and development.
He added that “neoliberalism” is nearing bankruptcy in Africa and that “neocolonialism” has no future on the continent, emphasizing that all forms of oppression and bullying will be permanently driven out of Africa.
Stability, certainty
Zhou Yuyuan, deputy director of the Center for West Asian and African Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said that Wang clearly conveyed China’s firm commitment to being a partner to Africa and the Global South, injecting stability and certainty into China-Africa cooperation and broader international engagement with Africa.
He added that China and Africa are committed to becoming open and inclusive partners with a shared future, and their coordination in international and regional affairs could set an example for South-South cooperation, help safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and advance the reform of the global governance system.
Cui Shoujun, a professor at Renmin University of China, said that China and Africa have similar historical experiences and development aspirations. He pointed out China’s willingness and capacity to promote pragmatic technology transfer, adding that the Belt and Road Initiative provides a key platform for such cooperation.
An article published by the Diplomat magazine on Friday said that for Africa, the Chinese foreign minister’s visit signals a predictable partnership in an uncertain world. “The appeal lies not in uniform solutions but in an engagement perceived as predictable, adaptable, and anchored in long-term development trajectories rather than short-term political cycles,” the article said.
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